Mark Allen’s Hawaii From Home Workout: Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of our Hawaii From Home workouts, which will be brought to you by six-time Ironman world champion turned coach Mark Allen.

What is Hawaii From Home? Thanks for asking!

As athletes prepare for their 140.6-mile challenge from Oct. 4-11, Allen will provide one key workout each week that is designed to get them ready to tackle the big race week. Of course, you’ll still need to do plenty of swim, bike, and run training in addition to these key workouts, but view it as one of the most important sessions of the week and try to avoid doing any hard bike or run workouts the day before.

This week’s workout is a bike-run brick session which entails a 50-mile ride followed by a 20- to 50-minute run off the bike. Allen said: “The goal of this type of session is to train your body to do two things. One is to be able to quickly transition from using cycling muscles to using running muscles. Clearly this is key to having a great triathlon race. The second element that a brick workout is training you to do is to teach your body that the end of the bike is not time to eat a big meal and take a nap, but rather it’s time to run!”

He emphasized that there’s a misconception about brick workouts that “they should be structured to incorporate a very long run right off the bike to simulate what you will need to do in your Ironman, but that is not the case!”

He said: “The endurance you need to have a great marathon at the end of an Ironman is built both through your long weekly run workouts as well as doing some over-distance work on your long rides. Getting off the bike and running for two hours is a demand on the body that in my opinion is counterproductive. Save that type of effort for race day!”

This week’s workout doesn’t need to be really fast or hard, Allen said. “It can be relatively steady and aerobic in effort,” he added. When it comes to Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), think of this as a RPE 6 out of 10 ride.

“Once the ride is done, quickly put on your running gear and head out for a run that is anywhere from about 20 minutes up to a maximum of 50 to 60 minutes. Even running 20 minutes off the bike trains your body to make that muscular transition as well as signaling to your body that the end of the ride is not the end of the day!”

Allen’s top tip for nailing this session is to hydrate and fuel well towards the end of the ride. “Certainly get something to drink and also take in some sports drink or a gel as you transition from cycling to running.”

Sign-up for Hawaii From Home here.

If you’re looking for more guidance as you prepare for the 140.6-mile, seven-day challenge, be sure to check out our Six Weeks to Get Race Ready training plan and our printable training plans for Triathlete and Outside+ members. Outside+ members also get access to hundreds of personalized training programs on Today’s Plan. Not an Outside+ member yet? Become one today.

Mark Allen’s Hawaii From Home Workout: Week 2

Bike: 50 miles

This should be a steady, moderate aerobic effort, RPE 6/10

Run: 20-50 min. – let your own fitness and experience be the guide here on run duration

As with the ride, this should not be a hard or fast effort, RPE 6-7/10